BCCI has asked injured Team India opener, Shubman Gill, to return home. Gill has been ruled out of the upcoming test series against England, starting August 4. The young opener sustained a stress fracture in the shin.
According to a Cricbuzz report, there is no immediate plan to send a replacement for Shubman Gill and his unavailability has left the team in a tricky situation.
Opening options for India
India has now left with only two options in the opening slot, Mayank Agarwal and Abhimanyu Easwaran. Mayank, who is yet to play a test match in England is most likely to open with Rohit Sharma. Agarwal has struggled for runs of late, scoring only one fifty in the last six tests.
The uncapped player Abhimanyu Easwaran is the only other choice. As Team India has already made a call on KL Rahul that he will play as a middle-order batsman.
And in case any of these two gets injured, then Team India will be in big trouble. So, having an extra option is always helpful. The report also stated that the Indian team management has not asked for a specific player in its mail and only sought a replacement for Gill.
“They have left it to the selectors to name a replacement, be it Prithvi Shaw or Devdutt Padikkal or whoever,” Cricbuzz quoted an official tracking the developments.
Both Shaw and Padikkal are currently with the national team on the white-ball tour to Sri Lanka. India is scheduled to play a limited-overs series against Srilanka, starting July 13. So, if the BCCI wants any of these players on the England tour then they need to make a quick decision. As both of them have to undergo a 10-day quarantine in the UK before playing a match.
Indian players, support staff and family members to receive second dose of vaccine on July 7 and 9
The BCCI is organizing vaccination for the players. All of them have taken their first jabs before leaving for England last month. So, the players, support staff, and their family members can have their second shots on July 7-9.